“He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.” 1 Kings 19:4-5 NIV
Ya’ll I’ve about hit my limit.
I don’t smoke for the record… but this week I’ve thought about it.
STAAR season. Everyone is loosing their minds and I’m slowly slipping into madness.
This week between personal stress, work stress and mental stress I’ve been tempted to say, “You know what? I quit… I quit life… where is an island…”
Did you know someone else in the Bible felt that way too?
His name was Elijah.
Elijah was on the run from the dreaded Queen Jezebel. Jezebel was angry because Elijah had just slaughtered hundreds of her prophets after a battle of wits on Mount Carmel to see whose God was real. Elijah had mocked the prophets of Baal when their god did not answer their pleas to lite an altar. Elijah and all the prophets had then witnessed God’s power when fire came from heaven and engulfed the altar Elijah had set up.
So in other words, Elijah had just accomplished a great victory for the kingdom of heaven in the name of the Lord.
And then he laid under a tree, and prayed that he would die.
How many times do we have these huge, spectacular periods when we fully trust God and love Him and things seem to be going great, and then someone comes after us and we shut down? Or something happens and it throws our whole day off?
And we lay down on our bed and pray we would die.
How did God react?
Well, first God sent an angel to Elijah who gave him food and Elijah slept. Here God gives us some pretty basic advice for stress relief… eat and sleep.
Then Elijah traveled to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Here God revealed Himself to Elijah…
“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” 1 Kings 19: 11-13
There is something I really want us to grasp here: Elijah could not hear the voice of God while he was complaining, wailing and was afraid. Jezebel wanted him dead, and this terrified Elijah. Focused on his own feelings, he was not able to distinguish truth from lies.
It was when he ate, slept and went to meet with God that he was able to listen.
And God said, “Why are you here….” and then gave him instructions.
God did not even mention Jezebel’s name or address Elijah’s fear.
He gave him a mission that involved the fight against the prophets of Baal and anointing others. Why? Because God knows the real enemy- satan.
God wants to do something radical in our lives, but because of our fears and anguish, sometimes we can’t hear His voice.
Trust that when we are stressed and oppressed- God is victorious.
Beloved, you have a mission.
Eat. Sleep, and go to meet with God.
You are loved.
You are valued.
You are useful.